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The Anatomy of Improvisation 229
first note of which, unexpectedly, is A, the thirteenth added to the C 7th chord. To compensate for the chromatic descent that follows, the next two measures (7-8) offer rhythmic and melodic change of pace as well as the harmonic subtlety of an implied B Minor 7th and E 7th. Another "bebop" ends the phrase (Measure 9, beat 2). After a generally heated and fast-moving chorus De Franco ends with the contrasting simplicity of the un-syncopated notes of Measure 11 and a pause of several beats before he sails into another dazzling sequence.
An even more startling visualization of the inroads of bop, and a striking contrast between solo styles of two different eras on the same instrument, can be observed in the alto saxophone examples.
In Charlie Parker syncopation (rhythmic obliqueness) and implied passing chords (harmonic obliqueness) are rife. The sample is the third ad lib chorus after the opening theme on Bloomdido, 58 seconds from the start of the track. The G pick-up notes leading into Measure 1 are split almost imperceptibly into two sixteenths and an eighth, creating a sputtering effect that was a specialty with Parker, a sort of epileptic grace note technique. The next phrase might have been expressed by Hodges simply as six eighth notes (C Sharp, C, A Sharp, G, A, G), though it is unlikely in the first place that Hodges would have started a chorus of blues in G with an initial accent on C Sharp. Measures 2 through 7 are one continuous thought in which resourceful originality abound; in Measure 4 alone, which fundamentally is a G 7th portion of the blues, he runs a G Augmented arpeggio for the first two beats, then on the third beat raises the implied chord half a tone (a frequently employed bop tactic) before planting his mind and fingers in the G 7th groove with the F Natural and D. All this takes place in a single second, for this is an up tempo blues at about 58 bars per minute. This amazingly swift train of harmonic thought is never expressed at the expense of rhythmic pulsation; the entire six-measure passage swings exhilaratingly, with triplets used at expedient moments to insure variety in what is mainly an eighth-note approach, and with certain notes lightly touched (the lower E in Measure 3) and others accented at totally unpredictable points. |
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